Inspector of Prisons publishes first annual report since Judge Reilly’s death

The Office of the Inspector of Prisons has published its annual report for 2015/2016, its first such report since the sudden death of the Inspector of Prisons, Judge Michael Reilly.

The report is the seventh published since Judge Reilly was appointed in 2008 and examines some of the reforms to the Irish prison estate in that time.

Following Judge Reilly’s death in November 2016, Helen Casey was appointed to continue the work of the office on an interim basis.

The Public Appointment Service is currently running a competition to identify a new Inspector of Prisons.

Welcoming the publication of the report, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said: “As you can see from the report, Judge Reilly provided an invaluable independent and reforming oversight of our prisons and the legacy he has left is one that will live long.”

Mr Flanagan continued: “I am pleased that the report acknowledges a lot of the reforms and improvements made in the Irish Prison Service in recent years such as: the transferring of responsibility for juvenile offenders to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and subsequent decommissioning of St. Patrick’s Institution; the newly built Cork Prison; improvements in the prison estate; the reduction in the prison population and the virtual elimination of slopping out.

“However, while much of the report is positive, issues of concern remain which include the level of prisoners presenting with mental health issues; the number of prisoners on restricted regimes and deficiencies in the line management structure.”

He added: “The Director General of the Irish Prison Service, Mr Michael Donnellan and I are committed to addressing these areas of concern and I am pleased to say that progress is being made. In June this year, I introduced a Statutory Instrument to amend the Prison Rules 2007, in order to implement the revised United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners - known as the ‘Mandela Rules’, in respect of the issue of restricted regimes and solitary confinement.

“Sustained efforts are required and are being made, to address long term structural issues and the continued focus and engagement with the Office of the Inspector is welcome, to ensure that any deficiencies identified in past and future reports will be fully addressed.”